


golden hour

by valikath



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Bokuto Koutarou Has ADHD, But it's there, Developing Relationship, Editor Akaashi Keiji, Fluff, Getting Together, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, POV Akaashi Keiji, Pro Volleyball Player Bokuto Koutarou, Song: Golden Hour (Kacey Musgraves), Songfic, akaashi is japanese on his fathers side and korean on his mothers, bokuaka have a kid!!, he's very cute, idk tags are hard just read the fic, not stated explicitly, their son calls him appa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29079348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valikath/pseuds/valikath
Summary: You're my golden hourThe color of my skyYou've set my world on fire, yeahAnd I know, I know everything's gonna be alright
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Tsukishima Kei, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei (mentioned)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	golden hour

**Author's Note:**

> songfic inspired by golden hour by kacey musgraves! you don't really have to listen to the song to read the fic, this was just a bunch of ramblings about bokuaka nd stuff. enjoy!!

_All that I know  
Is you caught me at the right time  
Keep me in your glow  
'Cause I'm having such a good time  
With you_

Keiji remembered how anxious he had been before his first year of high school. He never did well with change, even the smallest of changes caused his anxiety to skyrocket. Starting high school all by himself (his friends from middle school were going to another high school) with no familiar face to calm his growing nerves. The week before school started, his anxiety had finally gotten so bad Akaashi started picking at his skin and nails. His mom kept getting mad at him, telling him he was going to make a bad impression on his first day if he had scabs all over his face. But Akaashi didn’t care much about that, he just wanted to _survive_ his first day of high school (hell, he would be lucky if he survived the entire first week without having a breakdown).

Things changed for Keiji later that week when he attended his very first volleyball practice at Fukurodani. That was the day that he met Bokuto Koutarou. Bokuto was a second-year, with white-and-black hair that stood up chaotically, he had eyebrows that seemed permanently stuck halfway up his forehead, like he was always excited about something (Keiji would soon find out that he actually was always excited about something). His eyes were an odd shade of gold that Keiji had never seen before. It didn’t take Akaashi very long to figure out that Bokuto was a naturally loud person, always so excited and in a hurry to get the words out that the volume of his voice was the least of his concerns. Akaashi remembers the ways his nerves seemed to sky rocket like never before upon meeting Bokuto. He’ll never forget the blush on his cheeks and the butterflies that formed in his stomach within one minute of meeting the older boy. 

Keiji found himself drawn to the older boy. Everything in life seemed to just _click_ , like they belonged by each other's side both on and off the volleyball court.

Soon Keiji found himself spending all his spare time with Bokuto. 

Not long after meeting, they started eating lunch together at school. Bokuto had left his class in search of Akaashi, he remembers when Bokuto showed up in front of his desk during lunch. His school uniform was in disarray (as it always was), and a bento box was in his hands. It didn’t take long for Bokuto to take a seat across from Akaashi, he had taken the nearest desk chair he could find and was currently sitting in front of Akaashi’s desk with his chest pressed to the back of the chair. It was always easy to talk to Bokuto, their conversations always started on the topic of volleyball as they discussed their practice later that day or what match they had coming up. After a while, the conversations became more personal. Akaashi would sit in his desk chair and watch fondly as Bokuto talked animatedly about something his sisters had done or something cool (Akaashi thought it was more along the lines of stupid, but he didn’t want to interrupt) he had done with his friend from another school, Kuroo Tetsurou. 

Sometimes they would eat together in the courtyard. If it was warm outside Akaashi would sit outside underneath a tree with his lunch and wait for Bokuto to join him (he always did, unless he wasn’t at school that day or he was being held in during lunch because he failed a test). It was these days that the rest of their teammates would join them. The other boys would mess around, play-fighting or passing a volleyball back and forth while they bickered about something meaningless. Those days were filed away in Keiji’s brain for a rainy day, the memory of Bokuto laughing and rolling around in the grass under the warm glow of the sun never failed to bring a smile to his face. 

At some point, they had started hanging outside of school and volleyball. The team would always walk together to the convenience store to get snacks after practice, and as his first year went on Akaashi found that he and Bokuto were slowly becoming attached at the hip. Bokuto would always walk beside Akaashi to the convenience store, sometimes he would talk to Akaashi about practice, complimenting him on his sets and how they were improving or giving him advice on recieves and blocks. Other times, Bokuto’s arm would be thrown around Akaashi’s shoulder as he laughed and joked with their other teammates, usually they would be teasing Bokuto about his grades or some other inconvenient thing. It always made Akaashi’s heart flutter when Bokuto would wrap his arms around Akaashi’s shoulder from behind, whining as he said “Akaashiiiiiiii, they’re being mean to me, make them stopp.” Akaashi would always reach back and pat the older boys spiked-up hair before scolding his teammates for “being mean to the baby.” Bokuto had been very upset with Akaashi the first time he did that, because it just made their teammates tease him more, but it grew on him (also he liked it when Akaashi would call him his baby. Their teammates would later claim that this is where that disgusting pet name had originated from). (Because, at the end of the day, he was always Akaashi’s baby).

It didn’t take long for Akaashi to figure out that his feelings for Bokuto were romantic. 

He wasn’t stupid, his teachers has always praised Akaashi on how perceptive and clever he was. He knew what it meant when Bokuto smiled at him and his stomach exploded in butterflies, knew what it meant when Bokuto would grab his hand and Akaashi would feel the warmth residing in his palm for hours afterwards. He had read plenty of books and watched enough korean dramas with his mother to know what a crush felt like. Akaashi knew that friends didn’t lay awake at night and think about what it would feel like to kiss each other; what it would feel like to have Bokuto here, in his bed and in his arms on a rainy day while they watched their favorite movies. 

It didn’t take long for them to start dating either. Their teammates would often tease Bokuto for being dense or scatterbrained, but the second-year was emotionally intelligent. Akaashi had learned that after knowing the other boy for a couple of months. He knew what he felt when he felt it, and he usually knew what to do with those emotions. He was always quite good at reading others emotions, he wasn’t very good at keeping his own feelings a secret, but he was quick to notice when someone else was. He could always tell when Akaashi was having a bad day or when Konoha was feeling down and losing confidence in his spikes. He always did his best to try and cheer them up, he would give Konoha a quick pep talk or give him advice on how to improve his spikes. 

They had started dating at the end of Bokuto’s second year and Akaashi’s first year. 

They were standing outside in the cold, the sun was starting to go down. Streaks of golden light filled the evening sky, the air getting colder and colder and the sun continued to retreat further into the night. The two boys were standing side-by-side outside of the gymnasium, Fukurodani had just won their qualifying match for nationals. The adrenaline from the match was starting to fade away, and fatigue was beginning to settle in and begin making its temporary home in their muscles. 

Despite the fatigue, Akaashi still felt that warmth in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach that come with being near Bokuto. 

“Do you like me, Akaashi-kun?” Bokuto had asked out of nowhere, his voice was as serious as ever. Akaashi felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach in shock, the warm glow suddenly gone as he turned to stare at Bokuto with wide eyes. 

Bokuto was truly beautiful under the warm glow of the setting sun. The golden light bathed his tan skin, making him even more beautiful and intense than he already was.

“Wh-” He started, “What do you mean, Bokuto-san?”

“Do you like me?” Bokuto asked him seriously once again. It was then that he turned his intense gaze on Akaashi, the cold air made the blush on his cheeks more pronounced and the new angle now casted a shadow across Bokuto’s face. “Do you like me the way that I like you?” 

Akaashi’s mouth was dry and he felt like his heart was on fire, it was beating so fast to put out the flames and Akaashi could feel the thumping in his throat. For the first time in a while, Akaashi’s head was empty, the only thoughts bouncing around in his skull being _“Bokuto, Bokuto, Bokuto. Bokuto is standing right in front of me telling me that he likes me. BOKUTO.”_

Akaashi was surprised when “I love you, Koutarou” suddenly burst from his mouth. His blood was rushing in his ears and he felt his throat begin to close in on itself. His stomach felt like a stormy sea, forget the butterflies that had been there since the beginning of the year, at the moment they had been replaced with what felt like a ship and sea monster battling it out in stormy ocean waters. 

Akaashi thought he was dreaming when he was suddenly enveloped in Bokuto’s arms. Bokuto’s arms wrapped around his shoulders with his face buried into Akaashi's neck and as he squeezed the younger boy impossibly closer. Akaashi didn’t know when he hugged Bokuto back, but when their team came out moments later they were interrupted with gagging sounds and comments from someone saying “get a room, ugh.” Akaashi smiled softly as he pulled himself away from Bokuto (which was a feat of it’s own, the boy was strong _and_ clingy). 

Later that night when Akaashi was laying in bed, soft music playing in the background as he smiled dreamily up at the ceiling of his bedroom. His head was thrumming with thoughts of the days events and as always, Bokuto Koutarou. 

_Baby don't you know?  
That you're my golden hour  
The color of my sky  
You've set my world on fire, yeah  
And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_

It was Akaashi’s second year and Bokuto’s third year of high school. His last year at Fukurodani before he went off into the real world... without Akaashi.

It was nice being able to see his boyfriend everyday. They often went on dates after volleyball practice. Bokuto would take him to get some ramen from his favorite place in the neighborhood, or they would go to one of their houses and do homework. Though Bokuto complained the entire time when they did that. Akaashi was probably the only reason he would actually graduate at the end of this year. 

Bokuto’s impending graduation was like a gloomy shadow, always following them around and plaguing otherwise happy memories. Akaashi would be helping Bokuto with an assignment during their lunch break and suddenly his mind would be plagued with the thought: _There won’t be anymore of this next year. Bokuto will be gone and you’ll be all alone._ The thoughts were always lurking in the back of his mind, Keiji could never seem to get rid of them. 

He and Bokuto had never really talked about what will happen when he graduates. Akaashi knows that things are going to change, that their relationship will change a lot. The thought of things changing was enough to send Akaashi’s anxiety spiraling. He didn’t want things to change, his relationship with Bokuto was fine the way it was. His life was fine the way it was, Keiji was sure that any sort of change would tip the boat and send him sinking to the bottom of the ocean. 

Halfway through the school year, right before the summer training camp, the topic finally came up. The two boys were sitting on the steps outside of the school’s gymnasium, their knees and shoulders were pressed against each other. Bokuto could never seem to stay completely still, he always had to be moving, even if the movement was relatively small (tapping his feet or drumming his fingers along a tabletop repetitively). The older boy kept rocking his legs back and forth, knocking his knee against Akaashi’s. The sun was starting to set and it wouldn’t be long before the sun was replaced by the moon.  
The rest of their team had already gone home, Bokuto had gotten held behind by their coach and Akaashi had decided to wait on him outside of the gym. Bokuto was oddly quiet when he finally joined Akaashi on the stone steps, silently taking a seat beside the younger boy. The two sat in silence for a short while, Akaashi looked over at his boyfriend in concern. It wasn’t usually hard to read Bokuto’s mood, he was very open with his emotions and his struggles. Akaashi waited patiently for Bokuto to speak up, understanding the importance of Bokuto's silence (it was such a rare thing). 

“Keiji, what are we gonna do next year?” Bokuto broke the silence surrounding them, his voice soft as he stared down at his own hands, his fingers were intertwined and he was twisting them together nervously. 

Akaashi looked over at his boyfriend in confusion, “What do you mean, Koutarou?” 

“It’s just… I mean I… UGHHH,” he groaned, scrunching his nose up in confusion as he struggled to put his words together. “It’s hard to explain, I just…” Keiji waited for a moment to give Koutarou time to gather his thoughts. “I just- I’m not gonna be here next year…” He trailed off, still staring at his intertwined fingers with furrowed eyebrows.

“And?” Akaashi’s stare was probably burning two holes straight through his soul, but he didn’t care. It was unusual for Bokuto to get so lost in his own head, trapped with his own thoughts. 

“Akaashiiiiii” He whined and threw his head back before jumping up and standing in front of the younger boy, waving his arms around dramatically. “I mean, what are we gonna do?! I don’t want you to like, forget about me while I'm not here!” Bokuto said very loud but also very serious. Akaashi couldn’t help but laugh at the stupidity of his boyfriend. God, he really loved him…

“AKAASHII!!! STOP LAUGHING, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!?!?” He whined even louder. Which only made Akaashi laugh even harder at Bokuto’s expression before he stood up from the steps, “AKAASHI STOP ITTT.”

“Okay, okay,” Akaashi said as he wiped tears from his eyes, “God, I love you so much.”

Bokuto suddenly stood up straight, eyebrows back in their normal position as he looked at his boyfriend in confusion. Akaashi just smiled softly at his boyfriend, bringing his hands up to Bokuto’s cheeks. Akaashi silently marveled at how pretty koutarou was. His face was always so open and trusting. His golden eyes the same color as the sun. The wind was blowing his hair lightly, stray silver hairs were starting to fall in his face now, the way they always did towards the end of the day. 

“You’re so stupid and I love you _soooo_ much.” He said softly before pressing a kiss to Bokuto’s forehead, “I could never forget about you, Koutarou, It would be like forgetting that the sun rises every single morning.” He said softly, and Bokuto’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“Really?!” Akaashi nodded and Bokuto pressed a loud kiss to Akaashi’s mouth. (He would never get used to that, Bokuto’s very sudden and very loud kisses). 

Akaashi nodded and Bokuto smiled even brighter (how that was even possible, no one will ever know). He pulled away from the raven-haired man and grabbed his hand instead, squeezing it lightly before he pulled Akaashi into a bone-crushing hug.

“I love you too” He said with his face pressed into the cold skin of Akaashi’s neck. It was after this that he proceeded to practically skip the whole way home, dragging Akaashi behind him the whole way. 

_I used to get sad  
And lonely when the sun went down  
It's different now  
'Cause I love the light that I've found  
In you _

Akaashi had to admit that his third-year wasn’t all that easy without Bokuto. Life was rather lonely without his loud boyfriend accompanying him everywhere around school. His lunch hour was much more quiet than what he was used to, no Bokuto there to tell him a very animated story about something someone did in class. He had started eating lunch with his other teammates, seeking out any sort of familiar company. When he couldn’t go sit in the courtyard with his friends, Keiji found himself staring out the window of his classroom, headphones covering his ears as soft music played through the speakers. 

Akaashi really felt the loneliness sink in during the Tokyo training camp that year. It was nice being able to see his friends from other schools, but no amount of people could fill Bokuto’s absence on their team (or in his life). 

Keiji found himself sitting on the steps outside of gym three. He had been sitting there for almost 10 minutes before his silence was interrupted by someone. Keiji glanced up to find Tsukishima’s familiar face, he still had the same glasses as last year but he had grown his hair out some more. Akaashi thought it framed his face better and his hair was surprisingly curly (he hadn’t really paid it much attention last year, but it was pretty cute now that he was growing his hair out. Don’t tell Kei that though).

“Akaashi-kun?” The taller boy asked quietly. He didn’t even need to voice the rest of his thoughts before Akaashi was scooting over to give him room on the stone steps, he patted the seat next to him and smiled softly up at the younger boy. Kei smiled softly and mumbled a quiet “thanks” before taking the seat beside Akaashi. The two sat in comfortable silence for a little while, they stared out at the sunset and listened to the distant yelling of various teenage boys. 

“It’s weird…” Kei started to speak, “It’s weird not having them here, right?” Akaashi turned to look at the blonde, watched as he fidgeted with his hands in his laps (a nervous habit that Keiji had noticed last year). 

“Yeah,” He mumbled and rested his arms on his knees, then shifted so that his chin was pressing against the tops of his arms.”It’s very quiet without them here” He added.

“I can’t believe I actually miss those two,” Kei shuddered “I’m gonna be sick.” 

Keiji snorted at the younger boy, “Oh, shut up, we both know you like them.” He bumped Kei’s shoulder with his own and watched a smile spread across the younger’s face. 

“Shut up, Akaashi-kun.” He laughed softly before returning his gaze to his lap, “I do miss them though. Logically I knew they wouldn’t be here but it’s still weird, I guess.” 

Keiji nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I understand that.” He turned to look at the younger boy again, watching fondly as he continued to fidget with his fingers. He really was cute when he wasn’t trying to be. “Have you talked to Kuroo lately?” 

“Not really,” The younger mumbled, “He’s probably busy with college and uhh adult stuff, I don’t know.” 

“Adult stuff?” Akaashi grinned at the poor excuse, for someone so smart Tsukishima was incredibly dumb when it came to some things. 

“Shut up!” He groaned and shoved Akaashi’s shoulder. 

“Have you actually tried to talk to him?” He asked quietly. 

“Obviously, yeah.” 

“You’re a terrible liar.” Akaashi smirked at the second-year, watching as he rolled his eyes at the older boy's statement. 

“Whatever,” the blonde waved his comment off, “i’m going to go eat dinner with the others, you coming?” 

Akaashi stood up from his seat without answering the other boy’s question. “Y’know, Kuroo-san would probably really like to talk to you.” He grinned at Tsukishima, who now had a small blush forming on his cheeks. The boy just rolled his eyes before turning to walk away from the third-year, Akaashi chuckled and followed him in the direction of the cafeteria.

Looking back on his third year now, Akaashi wants to laugh at how absolutely lost he was without Bokuto. They still saw each other as often as they could, but not being able to see Bokuto everyday was like living in the dark.

_Baby don't you know?  
That you're my golden hour  
The color of my sky  
You've set my world on fire, yeah, yeah  
And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_

  


After being together for so many years, Keiji has learned that being with Koutarou is liked spending every single day staring straight into the sun. His eyes burn and water, but no matter how tired he is from work or life in general, he can never bring himself to look away from Koutarou. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to. 

Sometimes Keiji has to remind himself that this is all very much real. That yes, he does get to wake up beside Koutarou every single day. He has to remind himself that this is his life. 

Over the years, Keiji has come to realize how much light Koutarou brings into his life. The man is literally like the fucking sun. No matter how good or bad the day was, at the beginning and the ending of the day he will always be there ready to welcome Keiji home with a bone crushing hug and dozens of kisses. 

_You make the world look beautiful, oooh  
Thought I'd seen it all before  
But looking through your eyes  
It looks like paradise_

__

_You've set my world on fire, yeah  
And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_

__

_You're my golden hour_  
_The color of my sky  
You've set my world on fire, yeah  
And I know, I know everything's gonna be alright_

It still feels surreal, this life that he’s built with Koutarou. Both of them were living their dreams together, Keiji was working as an editor and Koutarou being a professional and very successful volleyball player. There were times when both of them thought things wouldn’t work out the way they had thought, even Koutarou who was notorious for his inability to give up. No matter how much they doubted themselves at the end of the day, the other was always there to soothe and reassure them.

The most surreal part of Keiji’s life is the fact that they got to this point together, they had survived both high school and college together. They had survived getting married and figuring out adult life together. But above all the most amazing and unreal part of his life is Koji, their son. Sometimes he genuinely can’t believe they’re parents now, can’t believe that they actually started a family together. 

Part of Keiji had never thought he would get this kind of life. His younger self never could have imagined that he could actually be this happy. He remembers all the times in high school when his mother would talk about her future grandchildren, how she couldn’t wait for her son to get married. Keiji remembers the guilt that sank in his gut at her words and how he thought he would never get to that point in life. That he didn’t deserve that. 

Now, it feels like Keiji’s world is on fire.

They act just alike, Koutarou and Koji. Koji is only two now, but he acts just like Koutarou. Hell, he even looks like a miniature Koutarou. He had that same silver hair with black streaks, though his hair was curlier than Koutarou’s. He even had Koutarou’s eyes, they were that same golden color that reminded Keiji so much of the sunset. They found out very early that Koji was a clingy baby, he always wanted to be held and ended up sleeping in the bed with them most nights. They could never say no to their baby. 

Koji loved being babied, he loved getting any kind of attention from anyone he could get attention from. He absolutely adored when Uncle Tetsu came over to play, Tetsurou would cuddle and play with the toddler as much as he pleased. It was almost impossible for Keiji to work from home at this point, if he was home with Koji and even attempted to sit down and get some work done, the two year old would suddenly appear out of nowhere and practically demand that he sit in Keiji’s lap. Keiji didn’t mind though, he never would.

For once in their adult life, Akaashi was the last one in their little family to wake up. He went through his usual morning routine before finally shuffling into the living room. He could already hear Koji’s loud giggles and the sound of his cartoons he watches every morning playing on the TV. He heard Koutarou grunt out a “hold on” right before Keiji turned the corner to enter the living room. 

Keiji felt like his heart was going to explode.

Koutarou was currently doing push-ups in front of their TV, and even though his cartoons were playing the toddler was currently preoccupied with trying to hold on to Koutarou. The toddler continued to giggle loudly as Koutarou continued to do his push-ups, though he was going extra slow to make sure Koji didn’t fall off. Keiji smiled fondly at his two boys, his sleep addled mind making him extra soft so early in the morning. 

After Keiji stood there watching the two for a moment, Koji suddenly looked up and spotted him. His hair was sticking out everywhere in bedhead that could even give Kuroo a run for his money (yes, it was that bad). The toddler’s eyes lit up as he squealed and tried to roll off his dad’s back. His legs wobbled a little when they hit the floor and Koutarou screeched. However, the toddler recovered quickly and was soon running over to Akaashi. He wrapped his little arms around Keiji’s legs and looked up at Keiji while squealing “Appa!!!” 

Keiji smiled softly and the chubby two year old before scooping him up and hugging him to his chest.

“Good morning~” Keiji said in a sing-song voice and Koji laughed before burying his face in the warmth of Keiji’s neck. 

“Keiji!!” Koutarou called out from across the room. He was now sitting criss-cross on the floor, a pout on his face as he made grabby hands at his husband. “Do I get a good morning kiss???” 

“No,” Koji said suddenly, squeezing Keiji’s neck even tighter, “only for Koji!!” 

“That’s right” Keiji cooed and pressed a kiss to Koji’s cheek, “no kisses for Oto-san.” Koutarou squaked in betrayal before flopping down on his back and rolling over to bury his face in a pillow.

“Mean Keiji!!” Koutarou’s muffled voice shouted and Koji giggled at his father. Akaashi felt his heart flutter in his chest and warmth spread throughout his body. God, he loved them.

**Author's Note:**

> pls i started writing this at three am yesterday and i haven't stopped thinking about it since. i was gonna publish it when i finished the first draft yesterday so i decided to write some more and it ended up being much longer than i anticipated. anyways i hope you enjoy!! you can find me on tumble @valikath and on twitter @tittyshima!
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated! <33


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